Subject: Re: wierd behaviour of mkdir(2)
To: Bert Driehuis <driehuis@playbeing.org>
From: Matthew Orgass <darkstar@pgh.net>
List: tech-misc
Date: 10/19/2000 18:07:38
On Thu, 19 Oct 2000, Bert Driehuis wrote:

> It is an old debate that has no Posixly correct answer, if I recall
> right.

  POSIX allows trailing slashes to refer to a directory.

> It is very counterintuitive to allow mkdir to implicitly descend
> into the directory it is about to create, and the only reason this
> practice is so widespread is that historically System V allowed this
> (due to a bug in their namei implementation, to add insult to injury).

  Trailing slashes do not descend into the directory, just reference it.
However, SysV apparently allows trailing slashes to refer to regular files
as well, which is incorrect.

> The best thing is to fix the app, IMHO.

  Certainly.

Matthew Orgass
darkstar@pgh.net